1. FESTIVALS: Durga
Puja, Ashwin Shukla 1 to Ashwin Shukla 8-9 starting from 5th October
this year, marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon
Mahishasura. The festival is widely celebrated in Assam,
Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura and West Bengal.
Durga Puja is also celebrated as a major festival all over Bangladesh
where over 10% population is Hindu. Today, many diaspora Bengali cultural
organisations arrange Durgotsab in countries such as the United States, Canada,
United Kingdom, Australia, Germany,
France, The Netherlands, Singapore and Kuwait, among others. In 2006, a
grand Durga Puja ceremony was held in the Great Court of the British Museum.
Durga
Puja is celebrated in different ways in different regions of Bharat. In Gujarat, Navaratri is devoted to Amba mataji. In homes,
images of mataji are worshiped in accordance with accepted practice. In temples,
it is celebrated with garba and dandia-ras late throughout the nights of these
nine days. In Tamil Nadu, Golu is the festival celebrated during the Navaratri
period. On this occasion dolls, predominantly that of the Gods and Goddesses
from Hindu tradition are artistically arranged on a seven stepped wooden
platform.
2. LAKHS OF YOUTH JOIN
‘BHARAT JAGO DOUD’ ACROSS NATION: Lakhs of youth, both men and women, joined the
Bharat Jago Doud (a run for awakening Bharat) on September 11 across Bharat to
commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and 120th anniversary
of his historic Chicago speech given on September 11, 1893. The run was
organised by Swami Vivekananda 150th Birth Anniversary Celebration Committee
all over the country.
In Bangalore, the run began
from three simultaneous points. Noted scholar Dr Chidananda Murthy, Dr
Vijayalakshmi Balekundri, and RSS Akhil Bharatiya Bouddhik Pramukh Shri
Bhagaiah, were present on the occasion. Nearly 5000 youth joined the run. In
coastal city of Mangalore,
over 20,000 youth participated in the run, which was inagurated by Shri Jita
Kamananda Swamiji, president of Ramakrishna Mutt, Mangalore. RSS Sah
Sarkaryavah Shri Dattatreya Hosabale addressed the gathering.
In
Chennai, the event was blessed by Swami Gautamananda, president of Sri
Ramakrishna Mutt Chennai, while in Bhopal;
the sprint legend PT Usha joined the marathon with over 20,000 youth at Tatia
Tope Stadium. Similar events are reported to have been organized all over the
country like Pondicherry,
Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat Uttarakhand Madhya Pradesh, Nagpur etc.
3. KEDARNATH
TEMPLE OPENS AFTER 86
DAYS: The
"kapat" (doors) of the Kedarnath shrine opened on September 11 and
proper "puja" was performed for the first time 86 days after heavy
rains and floods devastated the region which left hundreds of people killed,
scores missing, several routes destroyed in Uttarakhand in June 2013. Thirty
priests performed the puja in the presence of office bearers of the shrine
management committee, representatives of the Shankaracharya, officials and
local legislator Shaila Rani Rawat. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was forced to
abort his travel plans due to inclement weather. The temple was decorated with
flowers, and the nearby platform and other places which were damaged in the
June floods, were covered with marquees.
The
priests first performed "shuddhikaran" (cleansing) puja, after which
the deity at the sanctum sanctorum was bathed in milk, holy water from the river
Ganga and other items were used in the puja of
Lord Shiva.
Officials
said it would take some time before the temple is opened to the public. This
was because the approach roads to the temple are in bad shape and would take a
long time to rebuild.
4. DHARMA AND YOGA FEST at Houston:
On
Saturday, Sept 7th, close to 1000 representatives from 66 organizations joined
hands in celebrating “Dharma and Yoga Fest” in Houston. Spearheaded by Hindu
Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Dharma and Yoga fest was held as the culmination of
the yearlong festivities called Swami Vivekananda 150 (SV150), in commemoration
of Swami Ji’s 150th birth year anniversary. Such events are happening in 30
different cities across USA,
spreading the awareness about Swamiji’s teachings and path of religious
tolerance and brotherhood.
The
entire event was set up in four parallel tracks, namely, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti
Yoga, Karma Yoga and Raja Yoga.
The
Jnana Yoga track had two parallel sessions: a Panel Discussion Session and
Speech Contest for middle school and high school kids. Four parallel sessions
were planned for Bhakti Yoga: Bhajan & Kirtan recitals, panel discussion on
Nava Vidha Bhakti, recital of the entire Srimad Bhagvad Gita and an exhibition
on Bhakti Yoga. Karma yoga track focused on the field serving the humanity with
charity, social service, disaster response and rehabilitation. Raja Yoga track
started with the attendees performing Pranayama (breathing exercises) and then
heading into the lecture series.
Over
40 kids from all over Greater Houston put together a play showcasing the life
and teachings of Swami Vivekananda.
5. NEGLECT OF N-E REGION PROVING COSTLY TO THE
NATION—MOHAN BHAGWAT: "The neglect of certain areas or the people of our society has
proved very costly to the entire nation. It also contributed hugely in making
the nation weak. The feeling of alienation that has developed in the hearts of
some people of north eastern areas is one example of it. Such a feeling can
only be rectified by our own efforts,” said RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan
Bhagwat. He was addressing a select gathering in New Delhi
on September 1 after felicitating Shri Dipok Barthakur of Assam with Swami Vivekananda Smriti
Karmayogi Award.
The
award, which consists of a memento and a cheque of Rs one lakh, was presented
by My Home India, a forum established to connect the people of north-east with
the rest of the country. Retired IPS officer Shri Prakash Singh and convener of
My Home India Shri Sunil Deodhar were also present on the occasion. Noted
businessman of Delhi Shri Sajjan Kumar Garg presided over the function. Senior
journalist Shri KG Suresh introduced Shri Dipok Barthakur and his outstanding
work.
6. VICE PRESIDENT HAMID
ANSARI UNVEILS VIVEKANANDA STATUE: Vice President of Bharat Mohd Hamid Ansari unveiled
the life size bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda on September 11 in front of
Kavadiayar Palace, the house of Travancore royal family.
Swami
Atmapriyananda-Vice Chancellor of Vivekananda University of Sri Ramakrishna
Mission Kolkata, Tranvancore King Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Verma, State
Governor Shri Nikhil Kumar, Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy, Leader of
Opposition in Rajya Sabha Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri P Parameshwaran- president of
Vivekananda Kendram Kanyakumari, spoke on the occasion.
In
his speech the Vice President Ansari said Swamiji was an Indian, Hindu and
Vendathi. He wanted radical changes on all social fronts of the country.
Swamiji could not accept spirituality without any mechanism to feed the poor.
The statue which resembles the one installed at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial
in Kanyakumari is made in Mahablipuram by sculptor Krishnamoorthy.
7. CATHOLICS IN GOA ARE CULTURALLY HINDUS: PARRIKAR: “India is a Hindu nation in the
cultural sense. A Catholic in Goa is also Hindu culturally because his
practices don’t match with Catholics in Brazil except in the religious aspect,
a Goan Catholic’s way of thinking and practice matches a Hindu’s,” Parrikar
said in an interview to New York Times’ India blog.
Parrikar
heads a state where the Catholic population is just under 30 percent of its 1.5
million population. The BJP fielded an unprecedented eight Catholic candidates
out of the 24 assembly seats the party contested.
The
57-year-old Chief Minister said he was a “perfect Hindu” but added that it was
his personal faith and that “it has nothing to do with government”. Parrikar
took pains to distinguish Hindu as a cultural rather than a religious term.
The
Chief Minister is a former Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) alumnus and is
known for his hands-on style of governance. This is his third stint as chief
minister of the state.
8. AGNI-V MISSILE SUCCESSFULLY TEST LAUNCHED: Bharat on September 15 conducted
a second test flight of its indigenously developed nuclear- capable 'Agni-V'
long-range ballistic missile, which has a strike range of more than 5000 km,
from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.
The
surface-to-surface missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead of more than one
tonne, witnessed an 'auto launch' and detail results of the trial will be known
after thorough analyses of all data retrieved from different radars and network
systems. Officials said.
The
indigenously developed missile Agni-V is capable of striking a range of more
than 5000 km. It is about 17 meter long and 2 metres wide with launch weight of
around 50 tonnes.
Unlike
other missiles of indigenously built Agni series, 'AGNI-V' is the most advanced
version having some new technologies incorporated in terms of navigation and
guidance, warhead and engine. The high speed onboard computer and fault
tolerant software guided the missile flawlessly, said a defence official.
In
the Agni series, Bharat at present has Agni-1 with 700 km range, Agni-2 with
2000 km range, Agni-3 and Agni-4 with 2500 km to more than 3500 range.
9. RSS USES
SOCIAL MEDIA TO RECRUIT CADRE IN CITIES: Members of the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh are taking recourse to social media networks to connect with
the young and find potential recruits. This effort on social media platforms
such as Twitter and Facebook, coupled with an option for potential members to
register on the RSS website, seems to be producing results. “The argument that
young people are not joining RSS is not true. Youth wants to join RSS and that
is why they are registering online,” said Manmohan Vaidya, who oversees media
relations at RSS. “The people who are joining the organization through online
registrations are in the age group of 25-40 years and most of them want to be
involved in social work. They think that they can contribute to the society
through an organization like the RSS.”
At
the RSS, it started as an experiment on 24 October last year when its chief
Mohan Bhagwat delivered his annual speech on Vijay Dashmi and senior members of
the organizations used various social networks to inform its cadre and people
in advance about the speech.
The
experiment clicked and the total number of registration from 24 October to 6
November was 1,800. Before the annual speech of Bhagwat, online registrations
from 1 October to 23 October numbered 494.
“Since
people are changing with time, we also have to change ourselves accordingly.”
said Surendra Jain, national secretary of VHP. Praveen Togadia, the
international working president of VHP, is an active user of both Facebook and
Twitter, said Jain.
10. 1,100-YEAR-OLD
PALA DYNASTY TEMPLE UNEARTHED IN DINAJPUR: Archaeologists from
Jahangirnagar University (JU) have excavated an ancient Hindu temple at Belwa village of Ghoraghat upazila in Dinajpur. The
massive brick structure has been identified as a Hindu temple from the Pala
dynasty. The chief of the project, Professor Syed Mohammad Kamrul, told
journalists that the excavated site was under threat of destruction.
Swadhin
Sen, associate professor of archaeology at JU, said the temple, approximately
1,100-years-old, was a major archaeological discovery in Bangladesh. Among the three
carvings that have been identified are the pedestal of the Brahmanic sun God
Surya, a fragment of the Gada (mace) depicted in the hand of the Hindu God
Vishnu, and a fragment of a Visnupatta (a type of dedicatory plaque used to
worship Vishnu).
A
miniature bronze statue of Ganesha has also been found, said Swadhin Sen.
"The worship of these three Gods - Surya, Vishnu and Ganesha - has been
attested by these evidences. This is quite unique in the context of undivided Bengal,"
11. 84 KOSI PARIKRAMA
YATRA CONCLUDES ON SCHEDULE: The 84 Kosi Parikrama Yatra of the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) concluded as per the schedule on September 13 at Makhora Village, about 40 km from Ayodhya, from
where it had began on August 25. As usual the administration’s atrocities
continued and 40 saints were arrested from Makhora. However some saints
performed the havan there. Later a havan was also performed at Karsevakpuram in
Ayodhya on September 13.
Though
the Uttar Pradesh government adopted all means to prevent the Rambhaktas and
the saints joining the Yatra and created barricades on the Parikrama route as
well as arrested the devotees, the administration failed to curb the zeal and
devotion of the Rambhaktas.
During
the entire Yatra more than 3,700 saints, who joined the Yatra from different
parts of the country, were arrested at different places. Majority of them were
arrested while entering Uttar Pradesh, but a few somehow successfully joined
the Yatra and were arrested while conducting the Yatra itself.
12. UNIVERSAL
ONENESS DAY 2013 IN MUMBAI: Vishva Adhyayan Kendra (VAK) Mumbai and Maharashtra
Educational Trust (MET) jointly organized Universal Oneness Day function on
30th August 2013.
Keynote
speech was delivered by noted thought leader Mr. Sandeep Waslekar on “Making
Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam a living reality”. Other dignitaries present were Mr.
Matan Zameer Deputy Chief of Mission
at Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai, Mr. Pankaj Bhujbal Honorary Secretary
MET and Mr. Satish Agarwal CMD Kissan Group of Industries.
Mr.
Sanjay Kelapure, President VAK welcomed all in the gathering. Mr. Zameer in his
speech mentioned the plight of Jews as they were persecuted practically all
over the world with India
being exceptionally empatheticfor nearly 2000 years ordeal till their own
homeland Israel
came into being. In his speech, Sandeep Waslekar wondered why our entrepreneurs
and industrial leaders are unable to see the obvious relationship between
scientific research and prosperity. He quoted examples from Israel and China to further elaborate how
research activities are helping them generate wealth and improve the quality of
life.
13. 5K RUN
FOR BHUTANESE CAUSE: In August, 2013 a 5K Run was organized by over 20 high school students
from 5 high schools at Roswell Park in Roswell, New Mexico, USA, the first such
run for Sewa International worldwide. Around 250 runners participated in this
run and the young Sewa volunteers were able to raise around $11,000 by putting
together 1200 volunteer hours for Bhutanese community. The raised funds will be
used for health camps/ school supplies and other activities for Bhutanese
community. Varun Ballari led the team of organizers of the run.
14. DR HR
VISHWAS GETS BALA SAHITYA PURASKAR-2013: Noted Samskrit scholar and Samsktit Bharati’s
Akhil Bharatiya Prashikshana Pramukh , Dr HR Vishwas will receive reputed
Kendra Sahitya Academy’s ‘Bala Sahitya Puraskar’ award for the year 2013.
Dr
Vishwas will receive this award in a programme at Panaji of Goa on November
15th. The award includes a cash prize worth Rs 50,000.
In
2010, Dr Vishwas was awarded the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award for Translation.
He received this award for translating well known litterateur Dr SL Bhairappa’s
most debated Kannada novel ‘Avarana’ to Samskrit.
15. ISRO
UNVEILS ORBITER FOR MARS MISSION,
LAUNCH IN OCT-NOV: Bharat's upcoming Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) seeks
to reveal whether there is methane, considered a "precursor chemical"
for life, on the Red Planet, key officials behind the ambitious venture said on
September 11.
A
Methane Sensor, one of the five payloads (scientific instruments) onboard the
spacecraft, would look to detect the presence of the gas, MOM Project Director
Arunan S said. He said the sensor was aimed at understanding whether life
existed on Mars or if it would have life in future.
16. MARTYRS’ DAY OBSERVED
IN JAMMU: Displaced Kashmiri Pandits observed Martyrs’
Day on September 14 in Jammu, to pay homage to
Tikalal Taploo, a prominent community leader who was gunned down by militants
in Srinagar in
1989. Several organisations paid tributes to the leader and thousands of other
people who fell victims to bullets of terrorists in the past two decades of
militancy in Jammu
and Kashmir.A demonstration was organised by Joint Forum of Kashmiri Pandit
Organisation. Tough action was demanded against the separatist elements in the
state who are openly propagating secession from Bharat.
17. TULSI BEAD PRODUCTION GETS A TECHNICAL LIFT FROM
IIT: A
technical design intervention by the Rural Technology center of Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi
has helped about 2000 rural women in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan engaged in
fabrication of tulsi malas , boost their production and earn a better
livelihood by introducing advanced machinery.
Women
could fabricate 30 to 40 tulsi malas with the old machines and make a profit
between Rs.60- Rs.80 per day. They were facing problems of low production and
physical pain while working on these machines.
Sita
Ram Gupta, executive director of the Lupin Foundation who collaborated with IIT,
points out that the new machines are capable of enhancing the production of
tulsi malas four-fold and provide a comfortable posture for operating them.
With each machine, women are now able to prepare beads for 200 to 250 malas
everyday and fabricate the final product into different designs.
18. SEAT FOR SIKH AND HINDU NATIONALS IN AFGHAN PARLIAMENT:
President
of Afghanistan,
Hamid Karzai on 4 September 2013 approved, through a legislative decree, a
special seat allocated for Sikh and Hindu Afghan Nationals in the Lower House
of the Afghan Parliament.
The
decree further adds that the amendments to the Election Law that came into
force upon signature by the President. It would be published along with the
relevant Cabinet resolution in the official gazette.
19. BHARAT SPEAKS
780 LANGUAGES, 220 LOST IN LAST 50 YEARS: No one has ever doubted that Bharat is home
to a huge variety of languages. A new study, the People’s Linguistic Survey of
India, says that the official number, 122, is far lower than the 780 that it
counted and another 100 that its authors suspect exist.
The
survey, which was conducted over the past four years by 3,000 volunteers and
staff of the Bhasha Research & Publication Centre also concludes that 220 Bharatiya
languages have disappeared in the last 50 years, and that another 150 could
vanish in the next half century as speakers die and their children fail to
learn their ancestral tongues.
The
35,000-page survey is being released in 50 volumes, the first of which appeared
on Sept. 5 to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Bharatiya philosopher
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, who was also the country’s second president. The last one
is scheduled to come out in December 2014.
Ganesh
Devy, who supervised the project, said this is the first comprehensive survey
of Bharatiya languages that anyone has conducted since Irish linguistic scholar
George Grierson noted the existence of 364 languages between 1894 and 1928.
There
is a major reason for the disparity in the government’s number of languages
versus what the survey found: the government does not count languages that
fewer than 10,000 people speak. Devy and his volunteers on the other hand
combed the country to find languages such as Chaimal in Tripura, which is
spoken by just 4 or 5 people.
20. ADI BADRI
TO GET HERITAGE TAG FOR TREASURE TROVE: Revered as the starting point of the Saraswati River,
the Adi Badri Temple
in the foothills of the Sivalik Hills in Yamunanagar in Haryana is all set to
get the tag of “national heritage”.
After
nine years of extensive excavation at the site, which has yielded important
findings — including a monastery, Buddha statue, pottery, pieces of carved
slabs and several artefacts, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has
proposed to bring it under its wing. The ASI feels the site has to be protected
as much remains to be unearthed from the spot.
A
picturesque site framed by hillocks and a major tourist attraction, Adi Badri
Temple site is adorned
with the late medieval temples of Adi Badri-Narayana, Sri Kedarnath and Mantra
Devi.
21. SEEMA TAMTA AWARDED PHD
ON SHRI GURUJI: Hemwati Nandan
Bahuguna Garhwal
University, Srinagar (Garhwal) recently awarded a Ph.D. degree
to Seema Tamta on ‘Sociological analysis of Social Philosophy of RSS second
Sarsanghachalak Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar’. Talking about her research Seema
said the visionary philosophy of Shri Guruji provided solutions to many social
issues confronting the society and gave birth to a new transformation process
that is still relevant in the changing social and cultural milieu of Bharat.
With this view an attempt has been made to analyse the thoughts, ideology and
philosophy of Shri Guruji from a sociological point of view.
22. Bharatiya is WHO’s regional director: After a gap of over four
decades, a Bharatiya has bagged the top post of the WHO South-East Asia Region
at an election held on September 12 during the meeting of the Health Ministers
of the 11 countries from the region. This is for the first time that any woman
has been nominated to this post in the region.A former IAS officer, Poonam
Khetrapal Singh who is presently an advisor, (international health) in the
Union Health Ministry has also till recently held the post of the deputy regional
director with the WHO South-East Asia Region from 2000 to 2013.
23. SHYAM ACHARYA HONOURED WITH BAPURAO LELE
AWARD: Senior
journalist of Jaipur Shri Shyam Acharya was felicitated with Bapurao Lele
Patrakarita Award in New Delhi
on August 31. The Asharani Vohra women award went to Nivedita Kandekar while
the photographer award was presented to Shri Devendra Rawat. The youth award
instated in the memory of Shrikant Joshi was presented to Shri Amrit Joshi.
Senior
BJP leader Shri LK Advani and RSS Sahsarkaryavah Dr Krishna Gopal felicitated
the awardees.
24. US PRESIDENT NAMES PIO TO KEY POST: US President Barack Obama has
nominated Bharatiya-American Puneet Talwar as assistant secretary of state for
political military affairs, a top diplomatic post. Talwar was Obama's top
advisor on the Middle East region for over
four years.
He
is the second Bharatiya-American to be nominated as the assistant secretary
position in the state department. In July, Nisha Desai Biswal was nominated as
the assistant secretary of state for South and Central
Asia.
25. AMERICAN
HINDU ORGANISATIONS HELP PAKISTANI HINDU REFUGEES: Prominent Hindu organisations
of America, including the
World Hindu Council of America, Hindu American Foundation (HAF), United States
Sindhi Alliance, have donated twenty five military grade tents to Pakistani
Hindu refugees based in Jodhpur
district of Rajasthan in Bharat. The tents were donated as a part of nationwide
project in USA
coordinated by an alliance of various Hindu organisations under project
‘Pakistani Hindu Refugee Relief’.
These
Hindu refugees have arrived from Pakistan after facing grave human
rights violation. In late 2012, a total of two hundred and forty refugees
arrived from Pakistan’s
Sindh province, recently around 500-700 refugees arrived from Pakistan
comprising mainly women and children.
In
the past, Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has organised a medical camp in Jodhpur while VHP of
America donated groceries and tents. This project is being coordinated at local
level with assistance from office bearers and volunteers of VHP, Bajrang Dal
and Hindu Help Line.
26. GUJARAT GOVT ORGANISES BIGGEST GLOBAL SUMMIT ON AGRICULTURE: Gujarat Government organised
a two day Agricultural Global Summit on September 8-9.
The
first of its kind summit was attended by Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi
along with Punjab Chief Minister, Prakash Singh Badal. Over 4,000 farmers from
29 States, two Union
Territories and 542
districts attended the event to discuss, learn and exchange farming knowledge.
Apart
from key political figures, the event also saw presence of experts from
countries like South Asia, Denmark,
Netherland and other African countries along with over 125 companies.
27. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN:
Pravas: Dr. Ram Vaidya sah samyojak Vishwa Vibhag will
return to UK after finishing
his tour to Caribbean countries.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
There is nothing more
dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that
disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that
irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. ― Gautama Buddha
JAI SHREE RAM
A CRUSADE TO UPROOT THE FLESH TRADE
Ahmednagar
based former ABVP activist Dr Girish Kulkarni rehabilitates over 900 sex
workers ensuring respectable jobs for their 300 children
During
the last four decades the Governments, both state and central, spent billions
of rupees on rehabilitation of commercial sex workers. What is the
result—mushrooming of red light areas and forced entry of minor girls into the
trade! The government claims about 6.8 lakh registered sex workers in the
country, but the NACO estimates this number to be more than 12 lakh. Amidst
this number game Dr Girish Kulkarni of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra
has successfully rehabilitated over 900 commercial sex workers and effectively
curbed the entry of second generation into the trade. Twenty years back there
were 900 sex workers operating from four streets of Ahemedngar, but today they
remain just 150 and that too only in one street. Not surprisingly, 300 children
of these women are today doing respectable jobs in state police and different
government departments. Wedding of about 200 rescued girls has also been
performed.
Normally,
it is believed that prostitution is a one way traffic in which there is no
U-turn. Of the many reasons, which block
the U-turn, the most serious ones are the tight hold of brothel-keepers, the
chain of beneficiaries who thrive on their labour and the inability to cope
with the stigma attached to them by wider society.
In
such circumstances even thinking about rehabilitation of these women is a
herculean as well as life-threatening task. The topmost challenge is: what is
the acceptable alternative, and how to provide protection from the people
prospering from the earnings of such women? Anybody who dares to do it has to
face the consequences. But Dr Girish Kulkarni took up this challenge 25 years
ago and so far successfully rehabilitated over 900 such women through his
Snehalaya. For it, he had to fight not only against the pimps, brothel-keepers
but also against the highly influential businessmen, policemen and bureaucrats
in the district.
Formed
in 1989 to work for the Victims of Commercial and Sexual Exploitation and
Trafficking (VCSE-T) in red light areas of Chitra, Bhagat and Mamta lanes in
Ahmednagar, Snehalaya is today an outstanding example of how youth can make a
difference in the lives of people. It created a history in 2010 when it secured
the conviction of 20 highly influential persons of Ahmednagar, who sexually
exploited a minor girl of 14 years. All 20 of them were sentenced to Double
Life Imprisonment. Another similar case of a minor is pending in the court.
The
output of Snehalaya’s persistent efforts is clearly visible. The sexually
transmitted diseases (except HIV/AIDS) have almost disappeared and use of
condoms in red light areas is 96 per cent, highest in the country. Similarly,
during the last 20 years no child prostitute joined the trade. Apart from many
other reasons, it can be attributed to relentless filing of cases against
brothel keepers, pimps and procurers, and their successful convictions in the
courts.
Thanks
to Snehalaya the children of prostitutes are in a process of life-changing
education creating a number of role models from the community. Some of the
children got admissions in top schools of the city and proved their mettle in
the results. About 300 of them have got quality jobs. Snehalaya also provides
medical facilities and ensures rehabilitation for HIV+ women and children. It
runs Balbhavans in 7 major slums of Ahmednagar and provides after-school
coaching to nearly 2000 students. Apart
from 150 abandoned infants, many unwed mothers, raped victims, widows have also
been rehabilitated. Snehalaya’s upcoming Himmatgram project is going to prove a
ray of hope for HIV victims and sex workers, who are being rehabilitated by
providing vocational skills and employment. Snehalaya’s dedicated team of
volunteers has devoted their lives for the betterment of these women. Perhaps this is the reason that noted film
personality, Aamir Khan, on May 6, 2012, during his popular TV show Satyamev
Jayate, appealed for help to Snehalaya in this fight.
Snehalaya
has also motivated these women to start their own Self-Help Groups (SHG) in all
red-light areas of the district. The
most poignant testimony of Snehalaya’s empowerment efforts has come in the form
of some outstanding milestones. Lata Pawar wrote the first autobiography of a
prostitute in Marathi, while Sangeeta Shelar, a former prostitute, represented
Snehalaya in the World AIDS Conference held in Mexico in 2008. Similarly, Kantabai
Kale became one of Snehalaya’s trustees in the initial days itself and Meena
Shinde is working as an honourary director.
A
professor and well known crusader in the district, Dr Kulkarni has been an
active worker of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) from 1983 to 1991.
His concern for the plight of sexually exploited women was not sudden. As a
young boy of 14 while attending tuition classes in a bylane known for
prostitution, he heard some of the women yell out in pain, as their customers beat
them up or the brothel-keepers inhumanly tortured them. “We always try to
convince the prostitutes to leave this trade and start a new life. Though, it
is a very tough decision to execute for so many reasons, we have inspired many
of them to leave the profession,” he says.
Talking
about the challenges he encountered, Dr Girish says, “Preparing a sex worker to
live a respectable life is not an easy task. We have to start from de-addiction
and then the habit of work is developed and vocational training is imparted.
Then social acceptance also remains a big question. Sometimes circumstances
disappointed and hurt me but most of the times they taught me a lot and
influenced my life immensely.”
Of
late, some of his students have also started working in various red light areas
after completion of their education. What satisfies Dr Girish more is the fact
that the society is slowly changing its orthodox attitude towards the women and
children from red-light areas. The girls rescued from the flesh trade got good
families and grooms for marriages.
When
governments have failed in rehabilitation of the sex workers even after
spending millions of rupees every year, these efforts of Dr Girish Kulkarni
show the way how to efficiently eradicate the social evil and change the
mindset of people.
(Snehalaya
runs ‘Snehadhar’, a 24x7 helpline for all types of women in distress. The
helpline no. is 09011363600) (Organiser, September 22, 2013)
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